Electron detector including one or more intimately-coupled scintillator-photomultiplier combinations, and electron microscope employing same

ABSTRACT

An electron detector includes a plurality of assemblies, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another. Alternatively, an electron detector includes an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/515,360, entitled “Electron Detector Including one or More Intimately-Coupled Scintillator-Photomultiplier Combinations, and Electron Microscope Employing Same” and filed on Aug. 5, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to electron detection and electron detection devices, and, in particular, to an electron detector including one or more intimately-coupled scintillator-silicon photomultiplier combinations that may be employed in an electron microscope.

2. Description of the Related Art

An electron microscope (EM) is a type of microscope that uses a particle beam of electrons to illuminate a specimen and produce a magnified image of the specimen. One common type of EM is known as a scanning electron microscope (SEM). An SEM creates images of a specimen by scanning it with a finely focused beam of electrons in a pattern across an area of the specimen, known as a raster pattern. The electrons interact with the atoms that make up the specimen, producing signals that contain information about the specimen's surface topography, composition, and other properties such as crystal orientation and electrical conductivity.

In a typical SEM, a beam of electrons is generated from an electron gun and accelerated to an anode 8 which is held at an accelerating voltage typically between 1 keV and 30 keV, although higher and lower voltage extremes are available on many instruments. The gun is positioned at the beginning of a series of focusing optics and deflection coils, called an electron column or simply “column” because its axis is typically vertical, which in turn is followed by a sample chamber or simply “chamber” housing the sample and accommodating a variety of detectors, probes and manipulators. Because electrons are readily absorbed in air, both the column and chamber are evacuated, although in some cases the sample chamber may be back-filled to a partial pressure of dry nitrogen or some other gas. The electrons may be initially generated by heating a filament, such as Tungsten or LaB6 (thermionic emission), by a strong electrical field (Cold Field Emission), or by a combination of the two (Schottky Emission). The electrons are then accelerated toward an anode, which is maintained at a high voltage called the “accelerating voltage”, then follow a path through the electron column, which contains a series of focusing lenses (usually electromagnetic) and scanning coils, such that a finely focused beam of electrons (on the order of 1-10 nanometers) is made to scan in a raster fashion as described above.

A special type of SEM dedicated to elemental analysis using X-rays is called an Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA). By definition, the EPMA includes multiple wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometers, which employ the principle of X-ray diffraction to sort the X rays emitted from the sample according to their wavelength. Because wavelength spectrometers require a substantial amount of space inside the sample chamber and also require a precise beam-sample-spectrometer geometry, the sample in many EPMAs must be placed at a much longer distance (say 40 mm) from the final lens than in SEMs, sacrificing image resolution to accommodate the improved spectral resolution provided by the wavelength spectrometers.

The first implementation of the electron microscope was the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). In this case, an electron beam is generated in a fashion similar to that described for the SEM, and the beam is focused by similar lens arrangements. In the TEM, however, the sample resides within the objective lens field and the transmitted beam passes through one or more projection lenses (also, typically, electromagnetic). The most common TEM image is formed from the primary electrons that pass through the sample, which are influenced by absorption and diffraction. TEMs can provide image resolution on the order of 0.2 nm, several times better than CFE SEMs and more than an order of magnitude better than SEMs based on thermionic emission. Their disadvantages are their cost and the requirement for very small and very thin samples.

There are also instruments that combine some of the features of the SEM and TEM, called Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopes (STEM).

Another instrument which is frequently used in both development and failure analysis in the fields of semiconductor and nanotechnology implements both an electron beam and an ion beam integrated with a single sample chamber such that the electron beam can be used for normal SEM type imaging, while the focused ion beam (FIB) is used for high resolution milling of micro-regions of the sample, without requiring coarse repositioning of the sample. Such an instrument is called a Dual Beam or FIB/SEM. The milling is often used for creating and polishing cross sections in situ, allowing an SEM image of the cross section thus created to be obtained. In this instrument, gas injection systems may also be added, enabling the semiconductor or nano-materials designer, for example, to build or modify structures in situ, using a process conceptually similar to Chemical Vapor Deposition.

When the electron beam hits the specimen in all of these and similar instruments, some of the beam electrons (primary electrons) are reflected/ejected back out of the specimen by elastic scattering resulting from collisions between the primary electrons and the nuclei of the atoms of the specimen. These electrons are known as backscattered electrons (BSEs) and provide both atomic number and topographical information about the specimen. Some other primary electrons will undergo inelastic scattering causing secondary electrons (SEs) to be ejected from a region of the specimen very close to the surface, providing an image with detailed topographical information at the highest resolution. If the sample is sufficiently thin and the incident beam energy sufficiently high, some electrons will pass through the sample (transmitted electrons or TEs). Backscattered and secondary electrons are collected by one or more detectors which are respectively called a backscattered electron detector (BSED) and a secondary electron detector (SED), which each convert the electrons to an electrical signal used to generate images of the specimen. A transmitted electron detector (TED) can be of a similar type or can simply be a screen coated with a long-persistence phosphor.

Most electron detectors used to image BSEs and SEs employ a combination of a scintillator, a light guide (also called a “light pipe”) and a photomultiplier tube (PMT), as proposed by Everhart and Thornley (Everhart, T E and R F M Thornley (1960), “Wide-band detector for micro-microampere low-energy electron currents”, Journal of Scientific Instruments 37 (7): 246-248). A scintillator is a device made from a material that exhibits scintillation, which is the emission of photons, usually in the visible light, near UV or near IR regions of the spectrum, in response to radiation. An important requirement for scintillators used in scanning electron imaging is that they have a fast decay time, on the order of 100 nanoseconds or less, allowing the image to be recorded with high fidelity (without “smearing”) even when very rapid beam scanning rates are used (pixel dwell times on the order of 100 ns or less are available in modern SEMS). This is particularly important in automated image analysis, in which feature size, shape and position must be precisely calculated. Suitable scintillator materials include minerals such as YAG:Ce, YAP:Ce, ZnO:Ga, as well as some plastic scintillators. The scintillator in an electron detector thus generates light (photons) in response to electron impingement thereon. The light guide then collects some fraction of the generated light and transmits it outside the chamber or column to a PMT, which is a vacuum tube device, typically operated at 1000-1500 volts, that detects light. Thus, in such an electron detector, the scintillator emits photons caused by the impingement of BSEs or SEs and the PMT detects the presence of the fraction of photons that are successfully collected and transmitted to it by the light guide. In some references, the light guide, although its use is clearly indicated within detailed descriptions or figures in these references, is not called out specifically, but is assumed to be an integral part of the PMT or scintillator. The light guide and its attachment to the scintillator, however, play an important role in determining the device performance, and its required presence cannot be ignored.

In current electron microscopes, the predominant method of secondary electron detection is the Everhart Thomley (ET) detector just described. Backscattered electron detectors as well are often “ET type” detectors, i.e., the scintillator-light guide-PMT sequence is used, but the manner in which the light guide is attached to the scintillator differs significantly in the two applications, as further described below. The PMT of the BSED, the SED and the TED reside outside of the vacuum chamber of the EM because a PMT is a rather large, rigid device having a size on the order of several centimeters in all directions. As a result, each such electron detector is comprised of a scintillator positioned inside the vacuum chamber and a light pipe or similar light transporting device to carry a fraction of the generated photons out to a PMT residing outside the vacuum chamber through a chamber access port.

A typical SEM sample chamber will have a limited number of access ports available to accommodate accessory instruments or tools, such as one or more energy dispersive X-ray detectors, a wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometer, an electron backscatter diffraction device, a cathodoluminescence spectrometer, micromanipulators, and, when laser or ion beam sources are available, a secondary ion mass spectrometer or a Raman spectrometer. These accessories, however, compete for port availability with the PMTs from the electron detectors, which may be several in number, including an SED, BSED, Low-Vacuum SED, and possibly a TED. If all the PMTs in an SEM could be eliminated, an equal number of ports would be made available for the mounting of additional important analytical tools that would otherwise be excluded from exploitation.

The SED and BSED differ as a result of the difference in the energy of the electrons detected. SEs are very low in energy, defined as 50 eV or less, and are drawn to the detector by a bias voltage of a few hundred volts and are then further accelerated to a scintillator biased with several thousand volts. The ability to influence the trajectory of SEs through a relatively low bias voltage enables the detector to be positioned to the side of the sample. BSEs have higher energy than SEs, with most BSEs having energy at or near the accelerating voltage of the primary beam, and their trajectory cannot be influenced by a voltage sufficiently low so as not to impact the primary beam. BSE imaging is therefore line-of-sight. Furthermore, when electron incidence is normal to the sample surface, which is typical, the distribution of BSEs in the space above the sample follows a cosine law, in which most of the electrons are backscattered along or near the axis of the electron column. These factors require that the BSED be placed immediately below the pole piece of the objective lens, in an annular fashion, such that the primary beam can pass through a small hole (e.g., 5 mm in diameter) in the center of the BSED. In order to achieve the highest image resolution in an SEM, samples must be placed as close as possible to the pole piece of the objective or “final” lens, i.e., samples should be imaged at the shortest possible “working distance”. A short working distance requires a short lens focal length, which in turn dictates a high lens current, minimizing aberrations and improving resolution. Therefore, the portion of the BSED which occupies space between the sample and the final lens pole piece, namely the scintillator and its attachment to the light pipe, must be as thin as possible. An important implication of this requirement in a scintillator-light guide combination is that the photons emitted from the scintillator can be collected only through the edge of the scintillator disc, as space above the scintillator cannot be sacrificed to accommodate the optics which would be required to redirect the photons into the light guide. The light guide in such assemblies is therefore coupled only to the periphery of the scintillator, through a C-shape coupling which grasps the disc by its thickness, not to its back surface (the surface opposite the surface on which the electrons impinge the scintillator). This results in a significant reduction in light collection efficiency for otherwise optimum BSED geometries. A further implication is that the light generated on the side of the scintillator disk opposite the light guide is not effectively transmitted to the PMT, meaning that there is always a topographical bias in the image (the view from one side of the column centerline dominates the image). In comparison, in ET detectors used as SEDs, the back-side of the scintillator disc is bonded directly to a mating surface of the light guide as there are no such geometrical and space restrictions.

A second type of BSED uses photodiodes also placed symmetrically around the centerline of the column, just under the pole piece of the final lens. The advantage of such a detector is that discrete photodiodes can be arranged around the column centerline, in “sectors”, and the signal collected from one or more of the sectors can be used to form the image. If sectors on one side only of the centerline are used to form the image, topographical contrast will dominate; if all of the sectors are used, topography will be eliminated and the image will be dominated by compositional contrast. In spite of this important capability, scintillator-based devices are often chosen over segmented photodiode detectors because they have much higher gain and can image at much faster scanning rates; in this case, the advantage of the selection of topographic or compositional modes provided by the photodiode detector is lost.

A third (and the least common) type of electron detector is a micro-channel plate (MCP) which, unlike the ET detectors, can be entirely contained inside the SEM, eliminating the need for a mounting port. The MCP, however, requires vacuum levels <10⁻⁶ torr, one or two orders of magnitude better than is typical inside the specimen chamber of the SEM. Furthermore, the MCP is slow and shares the disadvantage with the photodiode detector that it is unable to keep pace with the very short dwell times (high scanning rates) used in modern SEMs.

There is thus a great, unsolved need for an electron detector technology that is small, operates at low voltage, can be used inside the column or sample chamber, allows segmentation and high gain simultaneously, can be used in multiple, unique locations and indeed be positioned in situ via external manual or software control, and allows the number of access ports of an SEM that may be utilized for other analytical tools (and not electron detection) to be increased. There also accrue significant benefits in eliminating the requirement for a light guide, specifically the decreasing cost and complexity and increasing efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, an electron detector is provided that includes a plurality of assemblies, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another.

In another embodiment, a charged particle beam device is provided that includes an electron source structured to generate an electron beam, the electron source being coupled to an electron column, the electron column at least partially housing a system structured to direct the electron beam toward a specimen positioned in a sample chamber to which the electron column is coupled, and an electron detector. The electron detector includes a plurality of assemblies positioned within the electron column or the sample chamber, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another.

In still another embodiment, a method of producing an image of a specimen positioned within a sample chamber coupled to an electron column of a charged particle beam device is provided. The method includes generating an electron beam, directing the electron beam toward the specimen, wherein a plurality of electrons are ejected from the specimen in response to the electron beam impinging on the specimen, wherein the charged particle beam device includes an electron detector, the electron detector including a plurality of assemblies positioned within the electron column or the sample chamber, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another, and generating the image of the specimen based on either a first signal output by the first SiPM or a second signal output by the first SiPM, wherein the first signal or the second signal is selected for the generating based on an accelerating voltage of the electron beam.

In yet another embodiment, an electron detector is provided that includes an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member is structured to emit a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM is structured to generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member.

In a further embodiment, a charged particle beam device is provided that includes an electron source structured to generate an electron beam, the electron source being coupled to an electron column, the electron column at least partially housing a system structured to direct the electron beam toward a specimen positioned in a sample chamber to which the electron column is coupled, and an electron detector. The electron detector includes an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member is structured to emit a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM is structured to generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member.

In still a further embodiment, a method of producing an image of a specimen positioned within a sample chamber coupled to an electron column of a charged particle beam device is provided. The method includes generating an electron beam, directing the electron beam toward the specimen, wherein a plurality of electrons are ejected from the specimen in response to the electron beam impinging on the specimen, wherein the charged particle beam device includes an electron detector, the electron detector comprising an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member emits a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more of the electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member, and generating the image of the specimen based the signal.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an SEM according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of portion of the SEM of FIG. 1 showing an exemplary embodiment of a scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly forming a part of an electronic detector of the SEM of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of exemplary microcells that may form a part of the SiPM of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of the SiPM of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment that shows a plurality of microcells of the SiPM;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are computer illustrated images collected using an embodiment of an electron detector as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 at 100 and 500 nsec per pixel, respectively;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the SiPM of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are top plan, bottom isometric and enlarged views, respectively, of one particular embodiment of an electron detector that may be employed in the SEM of FIG. 1 as an annular backscattered electron detector, mounted directly under the pole piece, with the center of the annulus being positioned on the centerline of the electron column;

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of various alternative PCB assemblies that may be used to form an electron detector that may be employed in the SEM of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of another particular embodiment of an electron detector that may be employed in the SEM of FIG. 1 as a backscattered electron detector;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a small size electron detector according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are schematic diagram of the small electron detector of FIG. 15 (employing only two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies) is mounted on the end of a mechanical positioning device in an SEM;

FIGS. 18 and 19 are front elevational and isometric views, respectively, of an electronic detector according to another alternative embodiment that may be employed in the SEM of FIG. 1 as a backscattered electron detector that is structured for optimum performance by cooling the SiPM thereof;

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of a PCB assembly of the electronic detector of FIGS. 18 and 19;

FIG. 21 shows a number of possible positions and configurations of SiPM-based detectors inside the column or objective lens of the SEM of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are schematic diagrams showing a typical 400 mesh EM Nickel grid from different angles;

FIG. 23A is a front elevational view and FIG. 23B is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 23B-23B of FIG. 23A that show one implementation of a combined EDX-BSED system according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 24A and 24B are two computer illustrated images, the image of FIG. 24A taken of a sample surface with an SEM having a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair based electron detector mounted on the electron trap as shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, and for comparison, the image of FIG. 24B taken with an annular photodiode detector (using the full area, in composition mode);

FIGS. 24C and 24D are two computer illustrated images that show the shielding effect that is encountered by line of sight detectors caused by topographical features in the line-of-sight;

FIGS. 25-28 are schematic diagrams of various alternative embodiments of an X-ray detector of the SEM of FIG. 1 that includes an SiPM-based electron detector;

FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram of an SEM according to an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 30-31 are schematic diagrams of an electron detector employing different scintillator materials according to further embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 32 is a graph showing the efficiency of collection from a scintillator of given thickness for different side dimensions of its square surface; and

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram of a scintillator-SiPM coupled pair according to a further alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the statement that two or more parts or components are “coupled” shall mean that the parts are joined or operate together either directly or indirectly, i.e., through one or more intermediate parts or components, so long as a link occurs. As used herein, “directly connected” means that two elements are either directly in contact with each other or are connected to one another by a bonding/coupling material or agent without any other intermediate elements, parts or components in between. As used herein, “fixedly coupled” or “fixed” means that two components are coupled so as to move as one while maintaining a constant orientation relative to each other. As used herein, the statement that a first item is “based on” a second item shall mean that the second item serves as a direct or indirect (such as through one or more intermediate calculations and/or conversions) basis for the first item (either alone or in conjunction with one or more additional items, i.e., the first item may be based on the second item alone or on the second item and a third item).

As used herein, the word “unitary” means a component is created as a single piece or unit. That is, a component that includes pieces that are created separately and then coupled together as a unit is not a “unitary” component or body. As employed herein, the statement that two or more parts or components “engage” one another shall mean that the parts exert a force against one another either directly or through one or more intermediate parts or components. As employed herein, the term “number” shall mean one or an integer greater than one (i.e., a plurality).

Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example and without limitation, top, bottom, left, right, upper, lower, front, back, and derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an SEM 1 according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. SEM 1 includes an electron column 2, normally positioned vertically, coupled to a sample chamber 3. Electron column 2 and sample chamber 3 may at times herein be referred to collectively as an evacuated housing, being evacuated through a pumping manifold 4. In some cases, the sample chamber 3 may be referred to simply as the “chamber” and the electron column simply as the “column”; when either one is referred to singly, it may also apply to the entire evacuated housing. An electron gun assembly 5 comprising an electron source 6 is provided at the top of column 2. Electron source 6 is structured to generate an electron beam 7 within column 2, which beam continues on its path into sample chamber 3, directed toward and eventually impinging on the sample (or specimen) 13. SEM 1 further includes one or more condenser lenses 9 within column 2 which focus the beam 7 of primary electrons, also called the “primary beam”, to a predetermined diameter, such that the beam intensity, i.e., the “probe current”, increases strongly with the beam diameter. The column 2 of SEM 1 also includes deflection (scanning) coils 10 and an objective lens 12, represented by its pole piece, which further focuses the electron beam 7 to a small diameter, such that the electron beam 7 is convergent on the sample 13 at the selected working distance 11 (i.e., the distance between the bottom of the pole piece of the objective lens 12 and the surface of the sample 13), such sample 13 being positionable in several axes (usually X-Y-Z-Tilt-Rotation), by virtue of a sample stage (or specimen holder) 14. Scanning coils 10 deflect the electron beam 7 and create the raster scan in the X-Y axis on the surface of sample 13. In the illustrated embodiment, there is also at least one ET detector, such as SED detector 15, entering the sample chamber 3 or the column 2 through an access port, such detector 15 providing electrical signals to a control system 16 (comprising suitable electronic processing circuitry), which in turn produces a secondary electron image on a display system 17.

An electron detector 18 according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is positioned under the pole piece of the objective lens 12 within sample chamber 3. Electron detector 18 in the exemplary embodiment is structured to detect electrons 19 which are backscattered from the sample 13 positioned within sample chamber 3 on sample stage 14. However, as described elsewhere herein, electron detector 18 may also be optimized and/or positioned to monitor secondary electrons generated from sample 13. Electron detector 18 employs at least one Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 (FIG. 2), which is for detecting the electrons. The electron detector 18 and the region immediately surrounding it, as identified by the dotted outline in FIG. 1, is expanded schematically in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the exemplary embodiment, the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 includes a scintillator 20 that, as described in detail below, is directly connected to at least one silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) 21 by a light transmitting adhesive agent 22, such as an optical glue, an immersion oil or another similar coupling agent. The adhesive agent 22 is chosen such that it has a high transmittance for the emission region of the scintillator 20, and such that the refractive index matches the substrates as closely as possible to minimize Fresnel reflection losses. Scintillator 20 may be any suitable scintillator, such as, without limitation, a Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG), Yttrium Aluminum Perovskite (YAP), ZnO, SnO2, or ZnS based material or a plastic scintillator. In the exemplary embodiment, scintillator 20 is a YAG:Ce scintillator and EPI Optocast 3553-HM is selected as the light transmitting adhesive agent 22.

As seen in FIG. 2, scintillator 20 includes a front face 26 and an opposite back face 27, as seen from the view point of the surface of sample 13. In the exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, scintillator 20 is a rectangular cuboid having side surfaces (edges) 28, although other scintillator geometries are also possible. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 18 is, in the exemplary embodiment, configured such that electrons (e.g., backscattered electrons) impinge on the front face 26 of scintillator 20. As is known in the art, SiPM 21 is a solid state device that can detect light flashes made of a few photons with a single photon resolution. SiPM 21 consists of an array of several hundred to thousands of small, identical and independent detecting elements 25, commonly known as microcells, each typically square and tens of microns on a side, connected in parallel on a common single silicon substrate of typical wafer thickness, e.g. 450 microns, an example of such a device being shown in FIG. 3. The detecting elements 25 form a light sensing surface 29 of SiPM 21 (FIG. 2). Each detecting element/microcell 25 is, in the exemplary embodiment, a passive-quenched Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (APD) lithographically produced on the silicon substrate. Each side of the typically square microcell 25 is on the order of 25-100 microns. A smaller microcell size enables a higher density of microcells, which in turn provides a wider dynamic range (higher count rates can be measured at a given bias voltage); the increased number of microcells, however, means more “dead space” surrounding the microcells in their interstices, and therefore, a lower “fill factor” (the percentage of the active area of the device that actually is light sensitive) and consequently lower efficiency. For a 50 micron microcell size, the density is 400/mm² with a fill factor of 0.5; SiPMs using 25 micron cells are currently being made with a density of 1600/mm². Each microcell 25 is connected in parallel to other microcells 25 through a large series polysilicon resistor 33 (FIG. 3) integrated within the lithography. FIG. 4 is a more generalized schematic diagram of a microcell 25 according to an exemplary embodiment, showing the anti-reflective coating layer 32, the metal contact 33, the SiO₂ layer 35, the guard ring 37 and the metal contact 39 thereof.

Although each SiPM manufacturer will have a unique design, shallow junction technology (meaning that the SiPM devices have a shallow n+ on p junction) imparts a high quantum efficiency in the blue region of the light spectrum, in addition to the normal high sensitivity to the green light emission such as is characteristic of the YAG:Ce scintillator. This SJ-SiPM technology allows scintillators with shorter decay times than that of YAG:Ce to be used in Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 as described herein, which will ultimately be needed to provide such devices that are able to keep pace with the shortest electron beam dwell times. Such short dwell times are needed for beam-sensitive samples and to increase throughput when fast, automated feature analysis is required. The YAG:Ce scintillator, which emits near the 550 nm wavelength (green light) has a recovery time reported to be on the order of 80 nsec; the YAP:Ce (Ce-doped Yttrium Aluminum Perovskite) scintillator, which emits in the 385 nm wavelength range (toward the violet region of the spectrum and near UV) has been reported to be on the order of 20 nsec; and the ZnO:Ga scintillator, which emits in a region similar to YAP:Ce, has been reported to be 2 nsec, an order of magnitude faster than YAP. Use of YAP or ZnO scintillators in conventional ET detectors may be problematic, because the emission wavelength around 400 nm requires that light guides be made of quartz rather than the more flexible acrylic, the latter being generally preferred by most detector designers.

SiPMs were developed in the 1990s, predominantly in Russia for photon counting applications (B. Dolgoshein, et al, “Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research” A 563 (2006) 368-376). SiPMs are solid state, small, low voltage (tens of volts compared to hundreds or thousands of volts for the PMT) devices and are insensitive to magnetic fields. Recent renewed interest in the development of these devices has been motivated by the need for an electron multiplication technique that is insensitive to magnetic fields for use in combination Proton Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments.

The use of SiPMs as imaging devices in electron microscopy was not, however, prior to the present invention, considered by developers in either the field of photon counting device development and medical imaging or the field of electron microscopy. The advantages of SiPMs over PMTs in medical imaging devices, where single photon counting is both the requirement and the focus of development in the field, did not extrapolate to the development of scintillator-SiPM coupled pairs for use as small, low voltage, fast, mobile and efficient electron detection devices in the electron microscope.

SiPMs are intrinsically fast devices due to the very small width of the depletion region and the extremely short Geiger type discharge, having recovery times on the order of 100 ns. The single cell pulse decay time is further determined by the value of the quench resistor and the capacitance of the cell (see FIG. 5, which is a schematic circuit diagram of an SiPM 21 showing a plurality of microcells 25). The dependence on the quench resistor gives one possible direction to increasing the speed of the SiPM still further. Compared to PMTs, they are much smaller, more robust, require only low voltage to operate, and are positionable in-situ using micromanipulators or some other appropriate mechanical positioning mechanism. As stated earlier, another possible source of improvement in the speed of the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 is the use of faster scintillators. Initial tests, however, show that even the current electron detector 18 having a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 as described herein wherein an SiPM 21 is directly coupled with a YAG:Ce scintillator 20, is capable of providing images at very fast scanning rates. FIGS. 6A and 6B are computer illustrated images collected using an electron detector 18 at 100 and 500 nsec per pixel, respectively (HV 20 kV, beam current 9.7 nA, WD 5 mm).

Furthermore, compared to bulk photodiodes, SiPMs are much faster, able to keep pace with dwell times on the order of 100 nsec per pixel. Compared to MCPs, they are have the aforementioned speed advantage and can operate in poor vacuum environments or even in air.

It is known that large area single Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs) can be used for BSE imaging when used in the proportional mode, i.e., at a relatively high voltage close to but below the breakdown voltage of the device. When energetic electrons are absorbed in the detector, they create electron hole pairs, producing an output current that in turn is used to modulate the brightness of a display. The relatively high reverse bias sufficiently accelerates the generated electrons (but not the holes) such they can themselves cause impact ionizations, resulting in a small avalanche. In this mode, the APD has a gain between 10 and a few hundred, while still maintaining the proportionality between the number of incident events and the output current of the device and, in turn, the image brightness on the display. However, the large device size and its associated capacitance, as well as the requirement for subsequent integrating electronics, make the device relatively slow and, therefore, unusable at the short dwell times of modern SEMs (which are often operated at dwell times of 100-500 nsec per pixel, with ultimate speeds being in the range of 20-50 nsec per pixel).

If the APD is used in a limited Geiger mode, i.e., operated at 10-25% above the breakdown voltage, it is called an SPAD (for Single Photon Avalanche photodiode). In this operational mode, both the generated electrons and holes have sufficient energy to produce subsequent ionization, and a self-propagating chain reaction occurs. A much higher gain, about 10⁶, is realized. In this mode, however, a single event causes a full avalanche, i.e., saturation in the device. The current resulting from a single event in the device is the same as that resulting from multiple events. As a result, the device becomes binary and cannot produce a useful image. According to Aull et al, “Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiodes for Three-Dimensional Imaging,” Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Volume 13, Number 2, 2002, in order to shut off (or “quench”) the avalanche so that the APD is ready to detect another event, the APD is either “passively” or “actively” quenched. In passive quenching (as in the schematic drawing of FIG. 5), as stated in Aull et al., the device “is charged up to some bias above breakdown and then left open circuited. Once the APD has turned on, it discharges its own capacitance until it is no longer above the breakdown voltage, at which point the avalanche dies out. An active-quenching circuit senses when the APD starts to self-discharge, and then quickly discharges it to below breakdown with a shunting switch. After sufficient time to quench the avalanche, it then recharges the APD quickly by using a switch.”

As discussed elsewhere herein, an SiPM, such as SiPM 21, is a lithographically produced device which includes multiple SPAD microcells 25 operated in limited Geiger mode, each microcell 25 typically being 25-100 microns square, on a single silicon substrate, each with its own passive quenching resistor (FIGS. 3 and 4). A typical device using 50 micron cells from one manufacturer will have a cell density of 400/mm², while devices with 25 micron cells will have a density of 1600/mm². Each cell works precisely as described above for the passively quenched discrete device. However, in the SiPM, one event will trigger an avalanche in one cell, while a simultaneous event will trigger an avalanche in another; the outputs of all the cells are summed together.

Referring again to FIG. 2, when a single backscattered electron of the plurality of backscattered electrons 19 strikes the scintillator 20, multiple photons 30 are produced. In turn, each photon 30 directed toward the SiPM 21 is likely to strike a different microcell 25 of SiPM 21, generating a single electron-hole pair. Each of the carriers, i.e., the electron and the hole, has sufficient energy to create its own electron hole pairs, resulting in an avalanche, which multiplies the single carrier generated by the photon 30 by a factor on the order of one million within each microcell 25. The current produced by an avalanche in the microcell 25 is independent of the energy of the photon 30 and is the quantum of charge generated by the sensor. If n photons 30 reach the SiPM 21, the above-mentioned mechanism takes place in each microcell 25 hit by a photon 30. The charge delivered by the sensor is now n times the quantum packet. Exploiting this mechanism, the output signal of SiPM 21 is proportional to the light intensity with a single photon resolution. This process is illustrated in FIG. 7.

In this way, the gain of an APD operated in limited Geiger mode (SPAD) is realized, while at the same time maintaining the proportionality of device output current to the number of incident events. Each microcell 25 operates as a binary device but the SiPM 21 itself is an analogue detector. The number of cells that fire is proportional to the number of incident events until the event intensity is so high that all cells fire and saturation is reached. The dynamic range is intrinsically high because of the large number of microcells 25, but can be increased by using a higher density of smaller microcells 25 at the expense of efficiency. In practice, if saturation is reached, the primary electron beam current can be reduced, which has the corresponding advantage of increasing image resolution.

Silicon Photomultipliers are also known as Multi-pixel photon detectors (MPPD), Multi-Pixel photon counters (MPPC), Multi-Pixel Avalanche Photodiodes (MAPD), and a variety of other names.

As seen in FIG. 2, in the exemplary configuration, the back face 26 of scintillator 20 is directly connected to light sensing surface 29 of SiPM 21 by the light transmitting adhesive agent 22. Thus, light that is generated by scintillator 20 in response to electrons impinging on front face 26 in the direction of back face 27 will be incident on the light sensing surface 29 of the SiPM 21. As noted elsewhere herein, SiPMs are relatively small devices, from 1 mm square to 1 cm square and about 0.5 mm thick. In addition, scintillator 20 may be made of approximately matching area with a thickness ranging from 0.5 mm to 50 microns. The Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24, therefore, can be mounted on a thin PCB 23, to produce a device with a total thickness of a few mm. As a result, Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 may be made to be a thin device able to fit within the region between the sample 13 and the objective lens 12 (the “final lens”) in an EM such as SEM 1 and still retain the ability to use the short working distance 11. An important characteristic of this unique capability is that the light from the scintillator 20 is transmitted more efficiently by the direct face to face contact with the SIPM 21 than the through-the-edge technique required with conventional Scintillator-light guide combinations of the prior art.

Referring again to FIG. 1, electron detector 18 (which in the exemplary embodiment is a BSED) is coupled to control system 16 by wires 34 (e.g., bias, signal, and ground wires) which pass through a vacuum feed-through 36 provided in sample chamber 3. Vacuum feed-through 36 can be very small and placed in a part of sample chamber 3 (or, alternatively, column 2) that is unusable for mounting the other types of detectors and/or beam sources described herein. When electron beam 7 of SEM 1 strikes a micro-region of specimen 13, electrons are both emitted (SEs) and backscattered (BSEs) from that location. For a given primary beam current and voltage, the intensity of the electrons is dependent upon topography and elemental composition, among other factors. As described elsewhere herein, when electrons of sufficient energy strike scintillator 20 of Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24, light photons 30 are emitted and some are incident upon SiPM 21 of the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24. The resulting output current is proportional to the light intensity emitted by scintillator 20, which in turn is proportional to the instantaneous electron intensity striking the front face 26 of the scintillator 20. In the exemplary embodiment, the output current of SiPM 21 is provided to a Transimpedance amplifier (TIA) which can be mounted on the same PCB 23, mounted on a connected but separate PCB which is placed in close proximity to the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24, or mounted directly on the vacuum side of the feed-through 36, such TIA converting the SiPM current to a voltage pulse. In all of the aforementioned implementations, the TIA placement inside the sample chamber 3 or column 2 benefits from a much lower noise environment than if it were placed outside the sample chamber 3 or column 2, where it can be exposed to a multitude of noise-generating equipment and power supplies. In the preferred configuration, the output of the TIA is connected to the in-vacuum side of a multi-pin vacuum feed-through. Placement of the TIA can indeed be outside the sample chamber 3 or column 2 when placement inside the sample chamber 3 or column 2 is restricted. Wires 37 then provide the input to control system 16, wherein the signal is digitized or otherwise directly used to modulate the brightness of a monitor in display system 17. The signal from the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 is measured in synchronism with the pixel by pixel raster scan of the beam 7 of primary electrons; in this way an image of the scanned region of the sample 13 is formed. The resulting image magnification is the ratio of a linear dimension in the acquired image to the corresponding dimension on the sample scanned by the incident electron beam 7. Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 is used to measure instantaneous electron intensity of backscattered electrons (BSE) generated in SEM 1.

As stated elsewhere herein, several key benefits provided by SiPM 21 include high gain, small form factor, and low operating voltage (35V compared to 1 kV typical in a PMT). The small form factor of the PCB-mounted scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 is of particular importance to the present invention as it allows a plurality of assemblies to be positioned in strategic positions inside the column 2 or sample chamber 3 of SEM 1, without requiring the use of a chamber access port. This has a two-fold effect: 1) it allows for multiple imaging vantage points of samples in the SEM 1, which may improve the information content provided by the SEM 1, and 2) it frees up ports for use with other types of detectors or manipulators, which, in the prior art, would have been occupied by PMTs. Also, as stated above, this allows the electron detector 18 to be positioned in the region in between sample 13 and the pole piece of objective lens 12 while maintaining a short working distance 11. The Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 also eliminates the need for a light guide and its associated expense. Moreover, as described elsewhere herein, the back face 27 of the scintillator 20 is directly connected face-to-face with the light sensing surface 29 of the SiPM 21 by a thin film of light-transmitting adhesive agent 22, rather than being limited to connection through the edges of the scintillator disc as in prior art, and increased light collection efficiency is achieved. In the prior art, the amount of light collected by the light guide through the edges of a 15 mm diameter, 1 mm thick scintillator averages only 5-7% of the light generated in the disc for simple designs, while careful optimization of the design and coupling can improve the efficiency to perhaps an average of 15%. If light could be removed from the entire back surface of the same disc, however, the efficiency would improve to 60%. In the case of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24, the entire back is always used for collection. Therefore, for a given area, the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 can be more efficient by a factor 4 when positioned optimally under the pole piece of the final lens.

While in the exemplary embodiment described above, electron detector 18 has been optimized to monitor backscattered electrons, it will be understood that electron detector 18 may also be optimized to monitor secondary electrons. Often, an SEM contains two or more electron detectors, each optimized in a certain way. Because of the energy difference between secondary and backscattered electrons, different detector configurations may be required for the two signals, and the final images contain different information content. As noted elsewhere herein, an SED requires bias voltages to draw the SEs from the sample surface toward the detector and to accelerate them to sufficient energy to activate the scintillator, but in serving this function, the bias voltage can also bend low energy electrons around topographic features from regions of the sample that do not have line of sight to the detector. The backscattered electrons are of much higher energy, up to the energy of the primary beam 7, eliminating the need for the bias voltage, and retaining the shadowing information to more reliably produce an image representing the topography of the sample.

As seen in FIG. 1, SEM 1 also includes an X-ray detector 38. The intensity of a BSE signal is strongly related to the atomic number (Z) of the sample 13. Thus, in one embodiment, the BSE signal collected by electron detector 18 configured to collect backscattered electrons is used to supplement the X-ray detector 38 which provides direct elemental analysis.

BSEDs are typically annular devices placed directly under and as close as possible to the pole piece of the objective lens of an SEM. This configuration allows the sample to be placed at a short working distance, thereby providing high image resolution and high BSE intensity while still retaining a near 90° line-of-sight from the sample to the detector. FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are top plan, bottom isometric and enlarged views, respectively, of one particular embodiment of electron detector 18 that may be employed in SEM 1 as a BSED.

In this embodiment, electron detector 18 includes a mounting bracket 44 that is used to mount electron detector 18 within sample chamber 3 (or, alternatively, column 2). A PCB assembly 46 is attached to the distal end of mounting bracket 44. PCB assembly 46 includes a substrate 48 having a pass-through 50 that is structured to allow electron beam 7 to pass through electron detector 18 so that it can reach sample 13. In the illustrated embodiment, pass-through 50 is circular such that the distal end of PCB assembly 46 has a generally annular shape, but can also be square or rectangular. In one particular exemplary embodiment, PCB assembly 46 is structured to prevent charging from incident backscattered or secondary electrons and to carry the required grounding and bias voltage(s).

As seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, this embodiment of electron detector 18 includes four independent Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 (with YAG:Ce scintillators in the exemplary, non-limiting implementation), as described elsewhere herein, that are provided on the bottom of substrate 48. In particular, two 1 mm² Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 are provided opposite each other on one axis, and, on an axis 90° to the first, two 16 mm² (4 mm×4 mm) Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 are provided opposite each other. It will be understood, however, that the concept extends to a variable number of discrete devices and a range of sizes up to approximately 1 cm² in one embodiment. In addition, such symmetrical spacing, when used in combination with normal electron beam incidence on the sample 13, provides balanced topographical views.

Conductive traces 52 are provided on the bottom surface of substrate 48 for making electrical connections to the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24. Also, as seen in FIG. 8, wires 54, which allow for electrical connections from control system 16 to be made to electron detector 18, run on the top surface of substrate 48. Wires 54 extend through holes provided in substrate 48 and are soldered to conductive traces 52. In the exemplary embodiment, each Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 or sets of Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 can be turned on or off independently. In addition, their outputs can be manipulated by appropriate electronic circuitry or software, wherein, for example, all the outputs can be summed together to create an image with strong compositional contrast, or the signals from the devices on one side of the centerline of column 2 can be used to create an image with strong topographical contrast. This capability thus mimics a segmented detector using photodiodes, but provides the gain and speed of a scintillator detector.

This design (involving the use of different size scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24) was chosen to learn the tradeoffs between the device size and the active area of collection.

FIGS. 11-13 show other possible PCB assembly configurations that may be employed in alternative electron detector embodiments (i.e., in place of PCB assembly 46). In particular, FIG. 11 shows a PCB assembly 46′ that includes four 4 mm×4 mm (16 mm²) scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 spaced evenly about pass-through 50′ of substrate 48′. FIG. 12 shows a PCB assembly 46″ that includes two adjacent 4 mm×4 mm (16 mm²) scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 positioned on one side of pass-through 50″ of substrate 48″ with two more adjacent 4 mm×4 mm (16 mm²) scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 positioned on the opposite side of pass-through 50″ of substrate 48″. In addition, two 1 mm×1 mm (1 mm²) scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 are positioned on opposite sides of pass-through 50″ in between the 4 mm×4 mm scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24. FIG. 13 shows a PCB assembly 46′″ that includes eight 4 mm×4 mm (16 mm²) scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 spaced about pass-through 50′″ of substrate 48′″. Note that in the embodiment of FIG. 13, the bonding pads 49 of the SiPM 21 are identified, and adjacent pairs of the 4 mm×4 mm scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 are connected together. The rationale for this will be described below.

The embodiments of electron detector 18 shown in FIGS. 8-13 enable control system 16, and the associated software, to acquire an image from each of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 independently or to sum any number or all of them together. In the prior art, the use of 2 or 4 photodiodes or bulk APDs placed symmetrically around the column centerline enabled the collection of an image from one side of the centerline only, to provide a topographical view of the specimen, or, alternatively, the collection of the image from all of the segments to provide an image dominated by composition contrast. In the prior art, the use of scintillator discs, which provided faster and brighter images, do not allow this segmentation without the use of multiple scintillators, light pipes and PMTs, which is impractical in many situations, due to the space consumed by the multiple detectors as well and the added cost. The devices proposed herein enable segmented image capability, while providing the speed and intensity per unit area of the scintillator disc of the prior art.

With respect to segmentation, there is not expected to be much advantage in increasing the number of segments, while the complexity of the electronics increases in proportion to the number of channels. Therefore, in FIG. 13, we choose to use two devices per channel, increasing the active area while not increasing the complexity of the electronics. This is a unique implementation. In conventional systems, semiconductor detectors (direct electron detectors) are used because of simplicity of mounting them in a similar configuration to that shown in FIG. 10 in order to obtain the segmentation and the ability to choose compositional or topographical imaging. Electron detector 18 is able to take advantage of the higher gain of the SiPM 21 over direct electron detectors (10⁶ compared to 10²-10³ for standard photodiodes), yet retain the small size and mounting simplicity. In addition, the use of the Scintillator-Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair coupled pair assemblies 24 as compared to four standard photodiodes enables imaging at much faster scanning rates (up to 100 nS per pixel for present devices) based on the design of the SiPM and its use in Geiger mode compared to bulk devices. Another advantage of the small size of the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 is the possibility to use ASIC electronics mounted on mounting bracket 44 or substrate 48, in close proximity to the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24, i.e., the signal source. This is demonstrated in FIG. 14, wherein ASIC chip 56 is mounted on mounting bracket 44 in further alternative electronic detector 18′. In the exemplary embodiment, ASIC chip 56 implements TIA amplifier functionality wherein it is coupled to each SiPM, receives the signal of each SiPM, converts the current pulse generated in each SiPM to a voltage pulse, and then amplifies each voltage pulse. This close coupling of the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 and the signal processing electronics of ASIC chip 56 has the potential of minimizing noise that could be picked up over the signal wire(s) leading outside the sample chamber 4 to remote electronics. Although we describe ways to mount the TIA functionality close to the signal source, the largest benefit is most likely to accrue simply from keeping the TIA inside the sample chamber 3 or column 2, to shield the wires carrying the signal from the SiPM 21 and the TIA itself from the many noise sources existing outside the sample chamber 3 or column 2, mounting it directly to the vacuum side of the feed-through 36, perhaps with flexible cable to the SiPM 21, such that minimum size and maximum mobility of the electron detector described herein can be maintained.

An example of a small size electron detector 18″ according to another exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 15. This device illustrates four 1 mm×1 mm scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 mounted on a PCB substrate 48 that is 3.5 mm wide by 10 mm long and a total thickness, including PCB substrate 48, less than 2 mm. The device shown in FIG. 15, of course, is not the smallest device that can be conceived, as the PCB 48 can be reduced in width by using only two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 and significantly in length by optimized bonding methodologies.

Another exemplary embodiment which both relies on and takes advantage of the small size and high mobility of the electron detector embodiments described herein is shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, in which the small electron detector 18″ of FIG. 15 (employing only two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24) is mounted on the end of a mechanical positioning device 51. In this manner, the electron detector 18″ can be brought to the sample, and indeed to specific regions of the sample. It can be positioned such that the hole 50 is used as a pass-through for the electron beam (FIG. 16), or it can be positioned such that the two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 face the sample from the side (FIG. 17). In the latter mode, the sample can be tilted at a high angle (shallow beam incidence) and the electron detector 18″ in FIG. 17 becomes a Forward Scattered Electron Detector (FSED). The FSEs, and therefore their resulting images, are influenced significantly by crystal orientation and diffraction. Such orientation contrast is not visible in the normal BSE or SE images because the detectors are rigidly fixed in a position that is unable to achieve the forward scattered geometry.

Furthermore, backscattered electron detectors in an SEM must typically operate over a wide dynamic range because the primary electron beam current can vary from a few picoamps to more than 100 nanoamps depending on the intent of the user and type of sample. For a given average atomic number, primary beam conditions, and geometric arrangement, the BSE intensity will scale according to the primary beam current. In the present invention, SiPM 21 is able to handle the required dynamic range by means of a high pixel density and appropriate adjustment of the bias voltage. However, at very low beam currents, which are used to obtain best image resolution or because the sample is extremely beam sensitive, the inherent thermal noise in SiPM 21 can be minimized for best performance by lowering its operating temperature. It is known that thermal noise in Silicon decreases by 50% with every 10° C. reduction in operating temperature.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are front elevational and isometric views, respectively, of an electronic detector 18′″ according to another alternative embodiment that may be employed in the SEM of FIG. 1 as a BSED that is structured for optimum performance by cooling SiPM 21. In FIGS. 18 and 19, electronic detector 18′″ is shown mounted inside sample chamber 3 of SEM 1 at a position below the pole piece of objective lens 12 of SEM 1. In this embodiment, electron detector 18′″ includes a mounting arm 60 that is used to mount electron detector 18′″ within sample chamber 3. In addition, a cooling assembly 62 is coupled the distal end of mounting arm 60. In the illustrated embodiment, cooling assembly 62 includes a Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) 66 (which, as is known, employs the Peltier effect) that is coupled to a heat pipe 64 (or simply a copper rod or cold finger). A PCB assembly 68 is coupled to TEC 66.

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of PCB assembly 68. PCB assembly 68 includes a number of the same components as PCB assembly 46 (FIGS. 8-10), including substrate 48 having pass-through 50, Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24, and conductive traces 52 (electrical connections to conductive traces 52 may be in the form of a flex circuit or a wire bundle). In addition, substrate 48 is provided on thermal conductor member 70, which in the illustrated embodiment is a metal (e.g., copper) spreader. As seen in FIG. 18, thermal conductor member 70 is coupled to heat pipe 64 through TEC 66.

In operation, TEC 66 cools thermal conductor member 70, which in turn cools substrate 48 and Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 (temperature distribution is kept even across SiPM 21). Heat is removed to an external heat sink (not shown) by means of heat pipe 64. In one particular, non-limiting embodiment, heat pipe 64 delivers heat outside sample chamber 3 via vacuum feed-through 36 provided in sample chamber 3. In an alternative embodiment, TEC 66 may be placed outside sample chamber 3, with heat pipe 64 providing the thermal connection between thermal conductor member 70 and TEC 66.

In the exemplary embodiment, the temperature reduction target of the cooling assembly 62 is at least 50° C. (i.e., ΔT≈50° C.), which would suggest an achievable operating temperature in the range of −20° C. and a reduction of the intrinsic thermal noise (dark current) of the SiPM 21 by a factor of 16. A larger ΔT can be achieved by appropriate selection of the particular TEC 66 and thermal design, to achieve a lower operating temperature, but then condensation may become a factor when sample chamber 3 is vented for sample exchange. It is envisioned that if an operating temperature less than −20° C. is desirable or required, an interlock to the vent control on SEM 1 can insure that the device warms up sufficiently before air is introduced into sample chamber 3 (using either a time delay or a heating element).

Recently, it is becoming more and more common in high resolution instruments to use detectors which are positioned inside the electron column of an SEM and which detect electrons that originate at the specimen surface and follow the path close to the optical axis of the column, i.e. they go back inside of the column. Those electrons re-enter through the final focusing lens of the SEM column (the objective lens) and are detected somewhere inside of the objective lens or above it in the column. These devices are therefore called in-lens or through-the-lens detectors.

Typically, the advantage of using in-lens detectors is better electron collection efficiency and a higher imaging resolution, the latter obtained because the use of in-lens detectors enables the sample to be placed at extremely short working distance. Such detectors are therefore becoming common for SEMs, and are routinely provided in high-end, high resolution instruments. However, the major difficulty when implementing such in-lens detectors based on the standard scintillator-light guide-PMT setup described elsewhere herein is the size of the PMT (on the order of several centimeters in all directions). As a result, as also described elsewhere herein, in prior art applications the PMT must be positioned outside of the lens or column. In contrast, the scintillator must be positioned inside the column rather close to the column axis (e.g., around the axis for an annular type detector). In addition, the PMT and scintillator must be connected by a light guide.

The above described prior art configuration requirements bring a number of disadvantages. For example, as described elsewhere herein, the envelope of the column must incorporate bores/holes for getting the light guide to the outside PMT. If the detector is in the objective lens, the holes must go through the objective magnetic circuit that unavoidably disturbs the uniformity and symmetry of the magnetic field. The consequences of the non-uniform magnetic field are a higher saturation of the magnetic material in certain volumes (close to the holes) and aberrations in the final lens which degrade the ultimate image resolution achievable. In order to minimize this effect, whenever a bore is drilled in the column, a matching bore is drilled opposite to it, to balance any asymmetrical field changes that may be caused by the initial hole. In addition, there is a loss of light when it is transferred through the light guide. The light guide also occupies space inside the column as well as in the chamber where it extends from the objective lens to the chamber wall. Furthermore, the light guide cannot be positioned freely along the column axis as it has to go out of the column and it could interfere with other parts (for example with the lens coil). Therefore the position of the detector in the prior art is limited to certain space and such position may not be optimal for maximum detection efficiency.

On the other hand, as noted elsewhere herein, SiPMs, such as SiPM 21, are very small devices, and a given Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24, mounted and bonded onto a PCB, can be as thin as 1.5 mm or even less. Thus, in one aspect of the present invention, an in-lens or through-the-lens detector is implemented by placing a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 completely inside of the column or objective lens. In such a case, the device and its mounting would not disturb the column envelope or magnetic circuit by the requirement for bores and holes (only wires are needed to connect with the external electronics). Also, as noted elsewhere herein, direct coupling of scintillator 20 to SiPM 21 would minimize light losses, since no light guide is required. There is also the possibility of direct detection of the electrons (without a scintillator), which would make the device even smaller.

FIG. 21 shows a number of possible positions and configurations of SiPM-based detectors 72, each including a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 as described herein, according to alternative embodiments of the invention. In all cases, the SiPM-based detectors 72 is inside the electron column 2 and/or objective lens 12 and requires no drilling through the lens magnetic circuit as the signal is led out using wiring and feed-through 74, which can be positioned outside of objective lens 12. A detector 72 placed with its active surface parallel to the column axis can be a one segment (72-1) or multi-segment (72-2) configuration, enabling azimuthally resolved collection of the electrons. An annular type detector 72 can be positioned inside (72-3) or above (72-4) objective lens 16. Such annular type detector 72 may have different ID and OD diameters or may be radially segmented in order to collect different portions of angularly distributed electrons. Due to the very small size of such detectors 72, it may be possible to place several detectors 72 in one objective lens 16 and collect multiple signals, therefore getting multiple information about the electron distribution (e.g. for angularly or axially resolved detection). It may be possible to place several detectors 72 in multiple locations within column 2 or sample chamber 3 for unique imaging perspectives, low magnification views, and macro-imaging of the sample 13 using montage imaging techniques.

The BSED is usually mounted under the pole piece of the final lens, as described earlier, while an Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) detector faces the sample from the side, at an angle typically of 35-45 degrees relative to the sample surface, such sample surface being horizontal when the typical normal electron beam incidence is used. The most common type of EDX detector currently used is called an SDD (Silicon Drift Detector), but Lithium-drifted Silicon detectors are used as well. Both the EDX detector and the BSED are line-of-sight detectors, and therefore, each will have different views of the sample. X-rays may be shadowed by surface topography while the BSE detector, looking at the sample from a above, may have an unobstructed view. When attempts are made using prior art devices to match or correlate the two images, discrepancies will often occur which could cause misinterpretation or confusion of the feature-chemistry relationship. This effect is illustrated in FIGS. 22A and 22B, in which the left drawing shows a typical 400 mesh EM Nickel grid 75 in a plan view from the top, while the right drawing shows the view from the same position when the grid 75 is tilted 35 degrees (tilt angles shown below in the FIGS,). An elemental image of Ni provided by the EDX detector would have a compressed view, such as the grid 75 in FIG. 22B, while the backscattered detector will have the correct view shown in FIG. 22A.

The poor correlation between the BSE image and the X-ray image based on line-of-sight differences is addressed in yet another embodiment of the present invention, wherein a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair based electron detector may be integrated on or close to the same axis as the EDX detector 38 in FIG. 1. FIGS. 23A and 23B show one implementation of such a combined EDX-BSED system, labeled with reference numeral 75, in which an electron detector 18″, similar to the one shown in FIG. 15 but with only two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24, is mounted on the top external surface 76 of electron trap housing 77 of system 75. System 75 also includes an X-ray sensor 78, which in the illustrated, non-limiting embodiment is a silicon drift detector (SDD) and an electron deflection device 79 (e.g., a typical magnetic deflector often called an electron trap) positioned at an input end of electron trap housing 77. This type of deflector is necessarily included as an integral part of system 75 to prevent electrons from reaching X-ray sensor 78, which will create severe or even overwhelming background in the X-ray spectrum.

FIGS. 24A and 24B are two computer illustrated images, the image of FIG. 24A taken of a sample surface with an SEM having a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair based electron detector mounted on the electron trap as shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, and for comparison, the image of FIG. 24B taken with an annular photodiode detector (using the full area, in composition mode). The shadowing effects of the image of FIG. 24A are apparent, indicating that image was collected from the perspective of the upper right hand corner. The “set of tracks” in the upper center of the two images can be used for registration between the images.

FIGS. 24C and 24D are two computer illustrated images that show the shielding effect that is encountered by line of sight detectors caused by topographical features in the line-of-sight. In this case, a strip of carbon tape is placed on the surface of an aluminum stub; in turn a strip of copper tape is placed on the column. The entire sample is then viewed from the side, at 35 degree elevation angle to the sample surface (which is horizontal). The pole piece mounted BSED image is 24C, and shows the true Al—C and C—Cu interfaces. The EDX detector, however, will see the effect of the shadows created by elevations of the tape, and will correlate more precisely with FIG. 24D, taken from the electron trap-mounted BSED described above.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary implementation an X-ray detector 80 according to this embodiment (i.e., a combined EDX-BSED system). X-ray detector 80 includes a housing or “end cap” 82 that houses an X-ray sensor 84, which in the illustrated, non-limiting embodiment is a silicon drift detector (SDD) cooled by a TEC to typically negative 20° C. (although the operating range can be from about negative 10° to negative 65° C.). X-ray detector 80 also includes an electron deflection device 86 (e.g., a typical magnetic deflector often called an electron trap) positioned at an input end 88 of housing 82 adjacent to an opening 89 provided in input end 88. Electron deflection device 86 is configured such that the N pole of one segment thereof (positioned on one side of the longitudinal axis of the housing 82) faces the S pole of the other segment thereof (positioned on the other side of the longitudinal axis of the housing 82), the field being through the thickness of the magnets. This type of deflector is necessarily included as an integral part of X-ray detector 80 to prevent electrons from reaching X-ray sensor 84, which would create severe or even overwhelming background in the X-ray spectrum.

In addition, X-ray detector 80 also includes one or more SiPM-based detectors 90 (similar to SiPM-based detectors 72), each including a scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 as described herein, that are provided within housing 82. FIG. 25 shows one possible position and configuration of such an SiPM-based detector 90 within housing 82. In the embodiment of FIG. 25, an SiPM-based detector 90-1 is positioned on one side of the longitudinal axis of the housing 82 adjacent to the end of the first segment of electron deflection device 86. In operation, electrons are deflected in a first direction away from the longitudinal axis of the housing 82 and into the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair 24 of detector 90-1. The configuration of detector 90-1 also exploits the characteristic that the SiPM, unlike its PMT counterpart, is not affected by magnetic fields.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 26 as X-ray detector 80′, an SiPM-based detector 90-2 may be mounted in or adjacent to the center of an annular X-ray sensor 84 (such as an annular SDD). In one particular embodiment, the SiPM-based detector 90-2 can be placed with its collection surface parallel with the surface of a SDD type X-ray sensor 84, wherein it could be mounted at the periphery of the SDD chip (FIG. 27). In this case, the magnetic deflection field is structured to be selectively and remotely turned on (active) and off (inactive) using mechanical, electrical or electromechanical means, such that the “off” position would allow the transmission of electrons to create a BSE image, and the “on” position would deflect them away (as in the normal operating mode for X-ray collection.

In still another alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 27 as X-ray detector 80″, one or more detectors 90 (e.g., detectors 90-3 and 90-4) can be placed around the periphery of annular or non-annular X-ray sensor 84, wherein the electrons are deflected away from X-ray sensor 84 and into the detectors 90-3 and 90-4 by suitable mechanism. In these embodiments, the cooling and heat dissipation used for X-ray sensor 84 can also serve to cool the detectors 90-2, 90-3 and 90-4. As a result, the dark current of the SiPMs 28 of the detectors 90-2, 90-3 and 90-4 may be reduced by reducing its operating temperature using the same cooling subassembly already incorporated in X-ray detector 80″ for cooling X-ray sensor 84. In yet another alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 28 as X-ray detector 80′″, a detector 18 as described elsewhere herein is positioned along the longitudinal axis of the housing 82 in front of electron deflection device 86 in a manner such that pass-through 50 of detector 18 is aligned with opening 89. As a result, X-rays will be able to pass through detector 18 and reach X-ray sensor 84. In addition, number of electrons will be incident upon Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 of detector 18 and will be detected thereby. Any electrons that are not incident upon Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 and that pass through pass-through 50 will be deflected by electron deflection device 86 and will not reach X-ray sensor 84. In all of the embodiments just described, the electrons focused or deflected into the detector(s) 90 can provide an image having the precise line of sight as the X-ray detector 38. In a further alternative of the embodiment of FIG. 28, a bias voltage may be applied to detector 18 (e.g., to the SiPMs 21 of the Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24) to attract attract/bend low energy electrons into detector 18 so that detector 18 will be able to detect more than just line of sight electrons.

FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram of an SEM 100 according to an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention that provides real time stereoscopy imaging. SEM 100 includes a number of the same components as SEM 1 described elsewhere herein (FIG. 1), and like components are labeled with like reference numerals. As seen in FIG. 29, SEM 100 also includes two scintillator-SiPM coupled pair detectors 102-1, 102-2 (similar to SiPM-based detectors 72), each including a Scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 as described herein. Coupled pair detectors 102-1, 102-2 are provided within column 2 on opposite sides of electron beam 8. In the exemplary embodiment, coupled pair detectors 102-1, 102-2 are positioned above the sample in the sample chamber 3 or column 2 using any of the mounting modes described herein. In each case, the signal may be led out of column 2 from the coupled pair detectors 102-1, 102-2 using wiring and a feed-through as described elsewhere herein. The coupled pair detectors 102-1, 102-2 are used to generate two angularly offset image signals from backscattered Those image signals are streamed at TV rates and displayed alternately on monitor 40 in the fashion of 3D TV. Using active shutter glasses 104 (also known as liquid crystal shutter glasses), a real time image with 3D characteristics can be seen by the operator as specimen 22 is traversed.

SiPMs, although sensitive to electrons, have traditionally been optimized for the detection of photons emitted by a scintillator, such as scintillator 26. This is the case because traditionally, the surface layers of SiPMs have been optimized for transmission of light having wavelengths in the range of 450 to 600 nm. These layers, optimum for light transmission, absorb electrons and do not allow them to impinge on the active surface of the SiPM. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the process technology can be altered to minimize surface absorption of electrons in order to produce a modified SiPM device having the multi-pixel structure described herein but suitable for direct electron detection. More specifically, the technology steps used to create the antireflection layers (e.g., anti-reflective coating layer 32 in FIG. 4) normally included during the SiPM processing are eliminated and the passivation layer on the SiPM (e.g., SiO2 layer 35 in FIG. 4) is made very thin, on the order of 100 nm or less. Further, a bias voltage of 800-1000 volts can be placed on the device to assist SE collection. This will enable imaging at order-of-magnitude faster rates than prior semiconductor electron detectors, also known as simple photodiodes (200 nS per pixel for a modified SiPM vs. several μS per pixel for a simple photodiode; the slower imaging rates for simple photodiodes are due largely to their large size and accompanying capacitance, whereas APDs in SiPMs have small individual capacitances and therefore allow for very high imaging rates). While simple photodiodes have been used for direct electron detection in less demanding applications, they have output signals that are too slow to keep pace with the very fast scanning rates used in modern SEMs. Thus, the modified SiPM devices as just described may be used in place of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 in any of the embodiments described herein for direct electron detection rather than electron detection using a scintillator.

Furthermore, according to one particular aspect of the present invention and referring again to FIGS. 8-10, one diametrically opposed pair of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 of electron detector 18 (or 18′ or 18′″) each incorporates a scintillator 20 made of a first scintillator material, while another diametrically opposed pair of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 of electron detector 18 (or 18′ or 18″) each incorporates a scintillator 20 made of a second scintillator material, wherein the scintillator materials exhibit different detection efficiencies for different electrons energies, or exhibit differences in other performance characteristics, such as recovery time. In this manner, images of the sample 13 can be generated from a different energy grouping of electrons within one pair as compared to another. For example, the first scintillator material may be a ZnO-based scintillator (such as ZnO, ZnO:Zn or ZnO:Ga) which exhibits a high efficiency for electrons having energies in the 1 keV range and below; the second scintillator material may be YAG:Ce, which is effective for higher energy electrons, but exhibits very low efficiency for electrons having energies below 3 keV (and would not produce a usable image below about 1 kV). As such, at low accelerating voltages (<5 kV), the sample image would be predominantly formed from the pair of ZnO:Ga scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 (for example), while images acquired at higher accelerating voltages will be predominantly formed using the signals from the pair of YAG:Ce scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24. If desired, the YAG based scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 could be independently turned “on” and the ZnO based scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 could be independently turned “off”, or vice versa, thereby selecting the signal from one or more specific materials only. In prior and current practice, one chooses an annular shaped scintillator of a single material, which is usually YAG for present-day detectors. In the prior art based on ET detector schemes, only one scintillator can be used per detector, such scintillator being made as large as possible to maximize the surface area exposed to electrons. Therefore, in the prior art, scintillators of each unique material would require its own light guide and photomultiplier tube, in order to be able to separate their signals.

It should be understood that the multiple scintillator material embodiment just described is merely one exemplary configuration that may be employed within the scope of the present invention, and that other configurations and/or material combinations may also be used. For example, as shown schematically in FIG. 30 (electrical connections have been omitted for ease of illustration), four scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-1 each incorporating a scintillator 20 made of a first scintillator material may be spaced evenly about pass through 50 (thus forming two diametrically opposed pairs), and four scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-2 each incorporating a scintillator 20 made of a second, different scintillator material (exhibiting a different detection efficiency than the first) may also be spaced evenly about pass through 50 (thus forming another two diametrically opposed pairs). As seen in FIG. 30, in the illustrated embodiment, each scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24-1 is positioned adjacent to a respective one of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-2. Another example configuration is shown schematically in FIG. 31 (again, electrical connections have been omitted for ease of illustration), which includes three diametrically opposed pairs of scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-1, 24-2 and 24-3 spaced about pass through 50, wherein the first diametrically opposed pair of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-1 incorporates a scintillator 20 made of a first scintillator material, the second diametrically opposed pair of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-2 incorporates a scintillator 20 made of a second scintillator material, and the third diametrically opposed pair of the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24-3 incorporates a scintillator 20 made of a third scintillator material. The first second and third scintillator materials each exhibit different detection efficiencies for different electrons energies or may differ in their recovery times, and may include, for example, ZnO, ZnO:Zn, ZnO:Ga, SnO₂:Eu or other scintillator based on SnO₂, scintillators based on ZnS, YAG:Ce, P47 (Yttrium Silicate) YAP:Ce. Still other multiple scintillator material configurations and combinations within a single electron detector are possible. For example, the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 employing different scintillator materials (exhibiting different detection efficiencies) may be spaced unevenly/asymmetrically about the pass through 50.

In addition, it will be understood that an electron detector having the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 and employing different scintillator materials (exhibiting different detection efficiencies or recovery times) may be utilized in connection with the other various embodiments described herein. More specifically, the PCB configurations shown in FIGS. 11-14, the SiPM-based detectors 72 of FIG. 21, the SiPM-based detector 18″ of FIGS. 23A and 23B, the SiPM-based detectors 90 of FIGS. 25-27, the SiPM-based detector 18 of FIG. 28, and the SiPM-based detectors 102 of FIG. 29 may all use such multiple scintillator material scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24.

Two additional factors that should be considered in performance optimization of scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 to detect low energy electrons include: 1) the application of a bias voltage (probably 1000V or less) to the scintillator 20 which will improve electron collection from the sample and increase photon excitation in the scintillator 20, as the bias voltage will accelerate the low energy electrons and 2) the use of scintillators 20 sufficiently thin to enable maximum collection at its back face 27 (which is directly coupled to the light sensitive surface 29 of the SiPM 21). The advantage of applying a bias voltage to conventional photodiodes to improve low energy electron detection was demonstrated by Silver, et al. (C. S. Silver, J. P. Spallas, and L. P. Muray, “Silicon photodiodes for low-voltage electron detection in scanning electron microscopy and electron beam lithography”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 246, November/December 2006, 2951-2955). The prior art uses scintillators of large area to intercept more electrons, and in turn increase photon excitation within the scintillator; in the scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assemblies 24 described herein, it is often advantageous to use small devices with areas as small as 1 mm², for example, to enable them to be placed in tight locations in the chamber or column, to be used in other detectors, or to be used in conjunction with micro-manipulators, for example. When small areas are used, the collection efficiency depends greatly on the thickness of the scintillator 20.

FIG. 32 shows the efficiency of collection from a scintillator 20 of given thickness for different side dimensions of its square surface assuming all the photons are generated at the front face 26 of the scintillator 21 (a reasonable assumption for electrons). It is shown, for example, that 20% efficiency would be expected from a 1 mm×1 mm scintillator 20, 0.5 mm thick; if the scintillator thickness could be reduced to 50 microns, the efficiency would be increased to nearly 70%. Efficiency, in this case, is the % of photons generated at the front face of the scintillator which reach the mating light collection surface of the SiPM. Performance for the 1 mm×1 mm ZnO based scintillator-SiPM coupled pair assembly 24 would therefore be maximized by depositing a thin film (using, for example, physical vapor deposition (PVD) or another suitable thin film deposition method) of the ZnO scintillator 20 directly on the surface of the SiPM 21 as shown schematically in FIG. 33. This may then be further enhanced by applying a bias voltage of 1 kV to the surface of the thin film scintillator 20. In one embodiment, the thin film scintillator 20 is 200 microns or less in thickness. In another embodiment, the thin film is 100 microns or less in thickness. In still another embodiment, the thin film is 50 microns or less in thickness.

While for convenience the invention has been described herein in connection with and in the context of SEM 1, it should be understood that that is not mean to be limiting, and that the invention is applicable to all types of EMs (e.g., a transmission electron microscope (TEM)) and other charged particle beam devices/instruments such as, without limitation, other dual beam instruments as described elsewhere herein that may employ a focused ion beam in conjunction with an electron beam.

In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word “comprising” or “including” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. In a device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. In any device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain elements are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that these elements cannot be used in combination.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An electron detector, comprising: a plurality of assemblies, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another.
 2. The electron detector according to claim 1, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit, for one or more specific electron energy levels or ranges, different detection efficiencies.
 3. The electron detector according to claim 1, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit different recovery times.
 4. The electron detector according to claim 1, wherein the first scintillator material is a ZnO based material and the second scintillator material is YAG based material.
 5. The electron detector according to claim 1, wherein the first scintillator is directly connected to the active light sensing surface of the first SiPM and the second scintillator is directly connected to the active light sensing surface of the second SiPM by a light transmitting adhesive agent.
 6. The electron detector according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate on which each of the assemblies is mounted, the substrate having a pass-through that is structured to allow an electron beam to pass through the electron detector.
 7. The electron detector according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of assemblies includes a third assembly having a third SiPM and a third scintillator made of the first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the third SiPM, and a fourth assembly having a fourth SiPM and a fourth scintillator made of the second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the fourth SiPM, wherein the first assembly and the third assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another, and wherein the second assembly and the fourth assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another.
 8. The electron detector according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of assemblies includes a fifth assembly having a fifth SiPM and a fifth scintillator made of a third scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the fifth SiPM, and a sixth assembly having a sixth SiPM and a sixth scintillator made of the third scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the sixth SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material, the second scintillator material and the third scintillator material are all different than one another, and wherein the fifth assembly and the sixth assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another.
 9. The electron detector according to claim 8, wherein the first scintillator material, the second scintillator material and the third scintillator material exhibit, for one or more specific electron energy levels or ranges, different detection efficiencies.
 10. A charged particle beam device, comprising: an electron source structured to generate an electron beam, the electron source being coupled to an electron column, the electron column at least partially housing a system structured to direct the electron beam toward a specimen positioned in a sample chamber to which the electron column is coupled; and an electron detector, the electron detector including a plurality of assemblies positioned within the electron column or the sample chamber, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another.
 11. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit, for one or more specific electron energy levels or ranges, different detection efficiencies.
 12. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit different recovery times.
 13. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, wherein the first scintillator material is a ZnO based material and the second scintillator material is a YAG based material.
 14. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, wherein the first scintillator is directly connected to the active light sensing surface of the first SiPM and the second scintillator is directly connected to the active light sensing surface of the second SiPM by a light transmitting adhesive agent.
 15. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, the electron detector further comprising a substrate on which each of the assemblies is mounted, the substrate having a pass-through that is structured to allow an electron beam to pass through the electron detector.
 16. The charged particle beam device according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of assemblies includes a third assembly having a third SiPM and a third scintillator made of the first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the third SiPM, and a fourth assembly having a fourth SiPM and a fourth scintillator made of the second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the fourth SiPM, wherein the first assembly and the third assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another, and wherein the second assembly and the fourth assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another.
 17. The charged particle beam device according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of assemblies includes a fifth assembly having a fifth SiPM and a fifth scintillator made of a third scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the fifth SiPM, and a sixth assembly having a sixth SiPM and a sixth scintillator made of the third scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the sixth SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material, the second scintillator material and the third scintillator material are all different than one another, and wherein the fifth assembly and the sixth assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another.
 18. The charged particle beam device according to claim 17, wherein the first scintillator material, the second scintillator material and the third scintillator material exhibit, for one or more specific electron energy levels or ranges, different detection efficiencies.
 19. The charged particle beam device according to claim 15, further comprising a specimen holder within the sample chamber, wherein the electron detector is a BSED, wherein the system comprises an objective lens, and wherein the substrate and the assemblies are positioned between a bottom of the objective lens and the specimen holder.
 20. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, wherein the charged particle beam device is an electron microscope.
 21. The charged particle beam device according to claim 10, further comprising electronic circuitry, wherein the first SiPM and the second SiPM are each coupled to the electronic circuitry, and wherein the electronic circuitry is structured to selectively generate an image of the specimen based on either a first signal from the first SiPM or a second signal from the second SiPM.
 22. The charged particle beam device according to claim 16, further comprising electronic circuitry, wherein the first SiPM, the second SiPM, the third SiPM and the fourth SiPM are each coupled to the electronic circuitry, and wherein the electronic circuitry is structured to selectively generate an image of the specimen based on either signals from the first SiPM and the third SiPM or signals from the second SiPM and the fourth SiPM.
 23. A method of producing an image of a specimen positioned within a sample chamber coupled to an electron column of a charged particle beam device, comprising: generating an electron beam; directing the electron beam toward the specimen, wherein a plurality of electrons are ejected from the specimen in response to the electron beam impinging on the specimen, wherein the charged particle beam device includes an electron detector, the electron detector including a plurality of assemblies positioned within the electron column or the sample chamber, the plurality of assemblies including a first assembly having a first SiPM and a first scintillator made of a first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the first SiPM, and a second assembly having a second SiPM and a second scintillator made of a second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the second SiPM, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material are different than one another; and generating the image of the specimen based on either a first signal output by the first SiPM or a second signal output by the first SiPM, wherein the first signal or the second signal is selected for the generating based on an accelerating voltage of the electron beam.
 24. The method according to claim 23, the electron detector further comprising a substrate on which each of the assemblies is mounted, the substrate having a pass-through that is structured to allow the electron beam to pass through the electron detector, wherein the plurality of assemblies includes a third assembly having a third SiPM and a third scintillator made of the first scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the third SiPM, and a fourth assembly having a fourth SiPM and a fourth scintillator made of the second scintillator material directly connected to an active light sensing surface of the fourth SiPM, wherein the first assembly and the third assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another, and wherein the second assembly and the fourth assembly are positioned on opposite sides of the pass-through directly opposite one another, and wherein the generating comprises generating the image of the specimen based on either signals from the first SiPM and the third SiPM or signals from the second SiPM and the fourth SiPM based on an accelerating voltage of the electron beam.
 25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit, for one or more specific electron energy levels or ranges, different detection efficiencies.
 26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the first scintillator material and the second scintillator material exhibit different recovery times.
 27. The method according to claim 23, wherein the first scintillator material is a ZnO based material and the second scintillator material is a YAG based material.
 28. An electron detector, comprising: an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member is structured to emit a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM is structured to generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member.
 29. The electron detector according to claim 28, wherein the scintillator material is a ZnO based material.
 30. The electron detector according to claim 28, wherein a thickness of the film is 200 microns or less.
 31. The electron detector according to claim 30, wherein the thickness of the film is 100 microns or less.
 32. The electron detector according to claim 31, wherein the thickness of the film is 50 microns or less.
 33. The electron detector according to claim 28, wherein a bias voltage is applied to the scintillator member.
 34. The electron detector according to claim 33, wherein the bias voltage is 1 kV or less.
 35. A charged particle beam device, comprising: an electron source structured to generate an electron beam, the electron source being coupled to an electron column, the electron column at least partially housing a system structured to direct the electron beam toward a specimen positioned in a sample chamber to which the electron column is coupled; and an electron detector, the electron detector comprising an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member is structured to emit a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM is structured to generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member.
 36. The charged particle beam device according to claim 35, wherein the scintillator material is a ZnO based material.
 37. The charged particle beam device according to claim 35, wherein a thickness of the film is 200 microns or less.
 38. The charged particle beam device according to claim 37, wherein the thickness of the film is 100 microns or less.
 39. The charged particle beam device according to claim 38, wherein the thickness of the film is 50 microns or less.
 40. The charged particle beam device according to claim 35, wherein a bias voltage is applied to the scintillator member.
 41. The charged particle beam device according to claim 40, wherein the bias voltage is 1 kV or less.
 42. A method of producing an image of a specimen positioned within a sample chamber coupled to an electron column of a charged particle beam device, comprising: generating an electron beam; directing the electron beam toward the specimen, wherein a plurality of electrons are ejected from the specimen in response to the electron beam impinging on the specimen, wherein the charged particle beam device includes an electron detector, the electron detector comprising an assembly including an SiPM and a scintillator member having a front surface and a back surface, the scintillator member being a film of a scintillator material directly deposited on to an active light sensing surface of the SiPM such that the back surface of the scintillator member faces the active light sensing surface of the SiPM, wherein the scintillator member emits a plurality of photons from the back surface responsive to one or more of the electrons impinging on the front surface and wherein the SiPM generate a signal responsive to receipt of the plurality of photons from the scintillator member; and generating the image of the specimen based the signal.
 43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the scintillator material is a ZnO based material.
 44. The method according to claim 42, wherein a thickness of the film is 200 microns or less.
 45. The method according to claim 44, wherein the thickness of the film is 100 microns or less.
 46. The method according to claim 45, wherein the thickness of the film is 50 microns or less.
 47. The method according to claim 42, wherein a bias voltage is applied to the scintillator member.
 48. The method according to claim 47, wherein the bias voltage is 1 kV or less. 